Murray State University to host Fall Scholars Week

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MURRAY, Ky. — Students at Murray State University will have the opportunity to share their scholarly and creative endeavors with the campus community during Fall Scholars Week, a University-wide celebration of student scholarship, research and creative work.

Fall Scholars Week takes place Nov. 13–17 and features presentations that highlight independent or course-related projects from undergraduate and graduate students at Murray State. In addition to showcasing student work, Fall Scholars Week is an excellent opportunity for students to improve their public speaking skills and add lines to their résumés.

“It is highly important that students get a chance to participate in Scholars Week because it maximizes the potential for whatever inquiry that student has developed at Murray State,” said A.J. Boston, co-coordinator for the Office of Research and Creative Activity. “Scholars Week creates a situation where students may follow their academic curiosity, guided by faculty mentors, and then turn around to figure out a way to make their research communicable to a wider audience who may or may not have an understanding of the subject matter.”

Highlights of Fall Scholars Week include an interdisciplinary poster session, a poster session for evidence-based best practices in health care, oral presentations from students in all academic disciplines, faculty-led panel discussions and art exhibition receptions.

“I hope participating students take away from this experience a deeper level of communication from three angles: how a chosen field expects content to be presented, how the world at large perceives such content and what unique perspectives they can offer to the content,” Boston said.

For many students, the week-long event is the culmination of lengthy and demanding scholarly endeavors. It is also an opportunity to hear from their peers in a variety of disciplines.

“I think it’s important for students to share their research at events like Scholars Week because it shows just how accessible research really is,” said Quinn Lambert, a psychology student from Paducah who will be presenting research exploring cross-cultural differences pertaining to mental health stigmas. “I enjoy seeing the sheer variety of research coming from students across different majors and departments. I may not understand all of it, but it sure is encouraging to see everyone showing what they can do.”

This annual interdisciplinary event is hosted in collaboration between University Libraries and the Office of Research and Creative Activity, which supports students in faculty-guided research and scholarly work. In addition to hosting Scholars Week, both in the fall and spring semesters, the Office of Research and Creative Activity recently began publishing “Steeplechase,” a semi-annual journal showcasing student work.